Salons, customers take extra precautions amid #CoronaScare

Weekend Plus Desk :
With the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, people are taking all possible measures to not come in contact with the infection. While in restaurants, offices etc, anyone with a flu or cold is being asked to maintain a distance or go home, there’s an industry that is finding it tough to keep their hands off their customers, literally.
The beauty industry works in close contact with customers, and now, parlours are taking measures to ensure the spaces are sanitised. They’re also ensuring that clients with the slightest cold or flu are not entertained. Customers, on the other hand, are opting out of parlour services unless absolutely necessary, and even then, they are relying on sanitisers to maintain hygiene while availing parlour services.
‘Unwell staff members are being sent home’
Parlours and salons are constantly being sanitised, masks have been made mandatory for employees and receptions and counters of these spaces are stocked with sanitisers. Zakir Khan, who owns Creme Salon by Zakir Khan in South Extension, says, “We are not taking appointments from people who are inquiring whether they can avail services while suffering from cold, cough or flu. If a staff member is feeling unwell, they are being asked to stay at home. It is not just for our safety, but also the safety of other clients.”
Pushkaraj Shenai, CEO, Lakme Lever, says, “In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, we are taking measures to ensure the safety of our team and guests at every level. Our experts wear masks for every service, sanitisers are being provided at all salons and trainers and experts use sanitiser in front of the customer before every service. Every tool required for cutting and styling is sterilised before and after use and we are ensuring deep cleaning of all salons.”
Seema Nanda, founder of Estetico – The Facial Bar and The Nomadic Spalon, which provides spa and salon services for women at home, shares, “There is a decline in our business by 50 per cent because people prefer not to visit parlours. People called to check whether we could send someone to provide beauty services at their home, but some of the clients seemed unwell, so we advised them to avail services once they feel better. We’re also ensuring that our employees wear masks while they’re attending a client.”
Agreeing on how services have been hit, Deepak Jalhan, creative director of Looks, Prive Salon, mentions, “We are washing our hands after every service and ensuring that people use sanitisers upon entering the salon.”
Salon employees are also facing a tough time dealing with customers. “These days, customers use a sanitiser upon entering the salon, and make sure we use it as well, even when we sanitise our hands in front of them. Then, they ask whether we have given services to a client with a flu or cold. Some customers also ask us to not to remove our masks while talking to them,” shares Sonali Prakash, an employee of a salon chain in Noida. n